DINDIGUL: Even four days after the Dindigul Government Hospital authorities intimated the local police station about a suspected gangrape leaving an intellectually disabled woman seven months pregnant, the police have not registered a complaint citing that the crime occurred in Salem district and not in their station limits.
SP A Pradeep told TNIE, “We are not aware of the issue in its entirety. I will instruct Dindigul police to inquire with the hospital and take appropriate action immediately.”
The victims’s relatives said the 21-year-old woman hailed from a village in Reddiarchatram. In January, her grandmother passed away. “The family left for Salem and stayed there for a few days. Meanwhile, two men in the area developed friendship with the family. One day, when the parents were away, the duo lured the woman with intellectual disability to a place, raped her, and threatened her to not disclose it,” a relative said.
Last week, her parents noticed a bump in her stomach and took her to Pudukkottai GH for a checkup. She was found pregnant and was referred to Dindigul GH. She then told the family about the assault and named the perpetrators. The health authorities intimated local police but no action has been taken yet.
All India Democratic Women Association (Dindigul) Secretary V Pappathi said, “The victim wants to deliver the baby. We don’t know how she will be able to raise the child. If the police don’t initiate action, we will stage a protest tomorrow.”